Have you ever thought about just how much waste you create every year? While recycling wherever possible is great, it's still preferable to minimise single-use products. Which has been made a little easier thanks to a new Melbourne eco initiative that lets you restock your household cleaning and body products without buying a brand-new bottle (and creating more waste).
One Less Bottle is an eco initiative that aims to do exactly what the label says: reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by letting users refill their existing bottles. The way the environmentally conscious business does this is through automatic refill stations – essentially vending machines – that let you fill BYO containers with high-use household products.
So far One Less Bottle has only installed one of its vending machines (to be fair, it has been one hell of a year), which dispenses household cleaning products like laundry liquid, dish washing liquid and surface spray. These products are all vegan and cruelty free – you can see exactly what's in them by checking out the range. Using the stations is a simple process too, you simply need to bring along a 500ml or one litre container, choose your product selection, pay, and then wait while your bottle is filled by the machine.
The refill station can be found at Barkly Square in Brunswick, where it has helped keep more than 650 single-use plastic containers out of landfill since late March. The founder of One Less Bottle, Dale Marchetti, says: "My plan is to make refilling convenient and change our everyday behaviour. Just like we remember to bring our reusable bags to the supermarket (and now wear our masks when leaving home), packing your empty bottles to refill is a behavioural change so many in Melbourne are already doing."
While you can only use One Less Bottle's current refill station if you live within 5km of Barkly Square due to the current restrictions, more stations are expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
